5th Annual Business of Fashion F O R U M Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., Roessner Hall, Experience Event Keynote by Elizabeth L. Cline Journalist and author of Over-Dressed: the Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, 2-3:30 p.m., Klein Lecture Hall
WELCOME Thank you for attending Albright College s Business of Fashion Forum. An event like this could only have come together with the help of many people. In particular, I would like to thank our session presenters who generously have given their time to be here today. There are several people who were integral in putting together this event. Thanks especially to David Tanner, director for the Center for the Arts, and his staff for helping us with logistical organization. Thanks also to Marisa McGrath and the box office staff, the College Relations publicity team, Mike Miller and the catering crew, Public Safety and all the folks in our facilities department for set up and preparation. We hope you enjoy today s event and that you will save the date and join us for these future fashion events at Albright College: Spring 2017 Fashion Trend Forecast Wed., Nov. 30, Klein Lecture Hall Free screening of Fashion Group International s DVD forecast of spring 2017 trends. Discussion to follow with panel of local business owners. Fashion Lion Release Party Fri., Dec. 9, Campus Center South Lounge Albright s Annual Fashion Showcase Sat., May 6, Center for the Arts Runway Show #1 3:30-4:30 p.m., Wachovia Theatre Exhibit Hall 3:30-5:30 p.m., Roop Hall Runway Show #2 5:30-6:30 p.m., Wachovia Theatre VIP Reception 6:30-7:30 p.m., Freedman Gallery $5/$10 student (advance/door), $10/$15 adult (advance/door) $25 VIP (advance ticket only, stage seating & reception) For tickets, visit the CFA Box Office in person or online at the link below, or call 610-921-7547. More information on these events and other CFA programs in music, theatre, dance, film and art can be found on the back of this program, in the season magazine, or online at www.albright.edu/centerforthearts. Doreen Burdalski Chair & Assistant Professor, Fashion Department
5 th ANNUAL BUSINESS of FASHION FORUM Sat., Nov. 5, 2016 8:30-9:30 a.m. Registration with Coffee/Tea Service Atrium 9:30-10:30 a.m. Concurrent Breakout Session #1 10:30-10:45 a.m. Break Elaine Fioravante, Freelance Blogger Rm. 101 bestdressedginger.com Marijean Jerrell, Design Consultant Rm. 102 Marijean Jerrell Design Consulting & Regina Ortenzi, Owner/Designer Ortenzi/Button Designs 10:45-11:45 a.m. Concurrent Breakout Session #2 Chelsey Miller, Freelance Stylist Rm. 101 Suzanna Tam, Textile & Product Designer Rm. 103 Enchante Accessories Patrick Wilson, Owner/Designer Rm. 104 PCB Designs, LLC 11:45-12:30 p.m. Lunch Atruim 12:30-1:30 p.m. Concurrent Session #3 Brittany Cortes, Associate Merchandiser Rm. 101 Loft division of ANN INC. Rebecca Kita, VP of Sales & Merchandising Rm. 102 Carolina Herrera Ann Jones, Senior Designer Rm. 103 Rosanna Venditti, Designer Emily Herr, Associate Designer GK Elite Sportswear 2-3:30 p.m. Keynote Presentation Klein Lecture Hall Elizabeth L. Cline, Journalist & Author Over-Dressed: the Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion (free and open to all)
PRESENTER BIOGRAPHIES Brittany Cortes is an associate merchandiser of skirts and dresses for ANN INC., the parent company of Ann Taylor, LOFT and Lou & Grey. Prior to buying, Cortes was a visual manager for ANN INC. She also worked as hiring manager for The Children s Place and co-manager for Wet Seal. Cortes graduated from Albright College in 2011 with a B.A. in merchandising. Emily Herr is an Albright College fashion design and merchandising alumna. Since graduation, she started her career as the director s assistant at Sorrelli jewelry where she planned and merchandised jewelry for trade shows and pop-up shops. Herr also worked for Sorrelli as a freelance visual merchandiser, creating window displays in each of the Sorrelli stores for the launch of new jewelry collections. Emily is currently associate fashion designer for GK Elite Sportswear where she designs custom cheerleading and gymnastics uniforms for athletes all over the country. She also has designed sublimated leotards for Under Armour, Cirq Du Soleil, Amazon.com, and the Simone Biles Signature Collection. Elaine Fioravanti is the founder and creator of the fashion blog bestdressedginger.com. Elaine's work is published in print magazines as well as online publications, including Jute magazine, Luckymag.com, yahoostyle.com and berkscountyliving.com. She has worked with fashion brands like Piperlime, Banana Republic, Warby Parker and Aeropostale. Before starting her blog, Elaine worked in a variety of management and buying roles for retail giants and smaller independent boutiques such as BCBG, Kate Spade, French Connection and Sorrelli Jewelry. Elaine is currently pursuing a degree in Communication Studies and Professional Writing with a minor in Public Relations from Kutztown University. Marijean Jerrell, owner of Marijean Jerrell Design Consulting, is an independent design consultant who owns an import business. Her career began as a buyer and department manager for Bullocks and as a home fashion coordinator for Burdines, now both under Macy s. As a designer, her credits include serving as vice president, Arthur Court Designs, vice president of design for Renaissance, corporate design director at The Leshner Corp., vice president of design at Excel Home Fashions, and senior vice president of design for Town & Country Living. She has extensive experience in sourcing with overseas suppliers and branding for upscale markets. Jerrell holds a B.A. from California State University with a dual major in history and industrial design. Ann Jones worked in retail for a few years at West Point Pepperell and Boscov's after graduating Albright College in 1985. Since then, she s had an exciting career at GK Elite Sportswear designing gymnastic apparel. Jones has worked personally with many outstanding gymnasts including Shannon Miller, Carly Patterson, Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin and Gabby Douglas. She also has designed and worked closely with adidas USA and Europe, as well as Limited Too, Warner Brothers and the Television Series "Stick It". Rebecca Kita is Vice President of Sales and Merchandising at Carolina Herrera. Prior to working with Carolina Herrera, she held executive positions at Saks Fifth Avenue, Polo Ralph Lauren. Kita also worked as a buyer for Boscov s. She earned her B.S. in marketing/merchandising management at the Fashion Institute of Technology. A Reading native, Kita has taught, part time, for Albright College in the past.
Freelance stylist Chelsey Miller graduated from Albright in 2010 with a B.A. in fashion design and merchandising. She's held full-time positions such as photographer and stylist for Boscov s and visual manager for Pottery Barn. Miller started her own freelance business working as an e-commerce and on-figure fashion and product stylist for local companies, and as a product photographer for QVC. She most recently has been involved in interior design/set design for a nursery furniture manufacturer in New Jersey. Regina Ortenzi is owner/designer for Ortenzi/Button Designs. Her company designs printed and woven product and provides quality assurance during manufacture. The company also assists with international sourcing, primarily in India, and renders graphics for packaging and display. Previously she was director of design for Beacon Looms where she was responsible for the design of all of Beacon s products. Ortenzi also worked as creative assistant to Gloria Vanderbilt and manager of Gloria Concepts in Manhattan. She is a member of the Graphic Artists Guild, former president and chairman of the national board of directors, International Furnishings and Design Association and Surface Design Association. She is also a former member and chairholder of Color Marketing Group. Regina Has a M.F.A. in Textile Design from the University of Georgia. Suzanna Tam is a textile and product designer for Enchanté Accessories. Born in Hong Kong, Tam studied textiles at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. With encouragement from family, friends and co-workers, Suzanna later completed her M.F.A. in Animation at Parsons School of Design and received her Art Education certification from Brooklyn College. She went on to teach art and design at local public schools and universities in Philadelphia and Shanghai. Suzanna currently works in New York as a designer with a number of big box retailer clients such as Target, Home Goods and Walmart. Rosanna Venditti is a fashion designer for GK Elite Sportswear. She was raised in Italy and got her bachelor s degree from the University of Florence in fashion design and her master's from the Politecnico of Milan in design for the fashion system. She worked in Italy as an assistant designer for a fashion consultant company and then she came to New York to work as an assistant designer for Magaschoni, a cashmere company. Venditti has been working for GK Elite for over two years, and she is the designer for the Nastia Liukin Leotard Collection, the Nastia Liukin Cup and the Under Armour Sideline Cheer Collection. She also designs custom gymnastic leotards using Swarovski crystals for high profile teams and contributes to designing new styles for the GK Gymnastic catalogue and the Under Armour Gymnastic catalogue. Patrick Wilson is a menswear designer and owner of PCB Designs, LLC. He s been designing for Robert Graham since 2007, and has been integral in launching brands such as Mack Black Label and Dime City by Mercury Mfg. Co. In addition to designing and branding, Wilson is directly involved with sourcing and travels frequently to South America and Europe to work side by side with the mills and manufacturers. Patrick is currently developing his own brand, Black House Academy, which will be launching later this year.
Upcoming Events at the Center For The Arts Black is Beautiful On view through Dec. 17, Freedman Gallery Make Democracy Great Again, or, The Most Important Election of Our Lifetime... That Is Until the Next One by Matt Fotis* EE A Domino Players production. Fri. Sat., Nov. 4 5, 8 p.m.; Sun., Nov. 6, 2:30 p.m.; Mon., Nov. 7, 8 p.m., Wachovia Theatre Talkback & Reception, Sat., Nov. 5, follows show Political Science Panel, Mon., Nov. 7, 6:30 p.m., Klein Lecture Hall International Film Series #3: A Night of Surrealist Films* Tues., Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m., Klein Lecture Hall Albright Idol Sat., Nov. 12, 7 p.m., Memorial Chapel Domino Players Studio: Short Play Festival Thur., Nov. 17, 7:30 p.m., Wachovia Theatre Big Cat Jazz Concert EE Fri., Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m., Memorial Chapel Symphonic Band Concert EE Sat., Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m., Memorial Chapel Sunday Sinfonia at Albright College EE Sun., Nov. 20, 3 p.m., Memorial Chapel Spring 2017 Fashion Trend Forecast Wed., Nov. 30, 7-8:30 p.m., Klein Lecture Hall Screening of Fashion Group International s DVD forecast of spring 2017 trends. Discussion to follow with panel of local business owners. Albright Dance Team Recital Sat., Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m., Wachovia Theatre Fashion Lion Release Party Fri., Dec. 9, 5-7 p.m., Campus Center South Lounge Black-Tie Optional Fri., Dec. 9, 9 p.m., Roop Hall. Improvisational comedy brought to you by Less Than or Equal To. Sounds of the Season, a Choral Concert EE Sat., Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m., Memorial Chapel Celebrate the music of Christmas with Albright Angels, Concert Choir, Mane Men and Women s Chorale. For more great events at the Center for the Arts, visit www.albright.edu/centerforthearts. *Call/visit the Box Office in person or online for tickets/prices. EE Denotes an Experience Event for academic credit.